The guy who spawned 'Spawn,' and more

Todd McFarlane is one of the country's most successful artists. He is one of the country's most successful businessmen. He's one of the country's most successful storytellers, toy manufacturers and sports-memorabilia collectors. In a Peter-Pan-meets-Willy-Wonka-meets-Rocky-Balboa kind of way, he may be America's most successful "guy."

This weekend, McFarlane will be a featured attraction at Phoenix Comicon, a pop-culture convention that draws celebrities, merchants and thousands of fans of comic books, anime, science fiction and film.

McFarlane, who was born in Canada, started professionally as an artist for Marvel/Epic Comics before going on his own. His 1992 debut comic for a character he created called Spawn sold 1.7 million copies.

Since then, he has branched out into toy manufacturing, video games, posters, music videos and more. He dreamed for a time of playing professional baseball and still loves sports, which is perhaps why he owns a minority interest in the Edmonton Oilers hockey club and has a memorabilia collection that includes Mark McGwire's 70th home-run ball.

Awhile back, I sat down with him at his Tempe headquarters for a Face to Face video interview (on azcentral.com today).

I asked McFarlane what superpower he would wish for if he could have just one.

"We are capable of taking every weapon and laying them on the ground," he said. "But we choose not to. I'd like to have the 'get along' power . . . It would be nice to have sunnier days and be able to enjoy life."

For McFarlane, life is about challenges. It's why he says that he always has been fascinated by the underdog.

"I understand someone who lives in New York, comes from New York or has an uncle in New York being a Yankee fan," he said. "But the kid in South Dakota who is a Yankee fan is telling me something about his character. He's saying I want the path of least resistance. I want to take the easy route. There is no energy that has to be expended to go for the front-runner."

So, as a guy who draws and creates action figures, who are McFarlane's heroes? Fictional and real.

"I lean to Batman," he said. "Superman never held an interest for me. Superman could take a planet, put it on his finger and spin it like a basketball. So when he was running into a building after burglars I say, 'Really?' There's no jeopardy . . . You push Batman out of a 40-story building and he doesn't have his batarang, he's dead. I was always intrigued by a guy like that."

As for real-life heroes, McFarlane's is his dad.

"He taught me real basic stuff," McFarlane said. "Be a gentleman. Don't lie. Fight for what you believe in. Be a good neighbor. Do community service. Unfortunately we live in a society where success is based on dollars. We say. 'Wow that guy made $2 million. He's very successful.' We don't pay attention to the fact that he is on his third marriage. He's estranged from his children or doesn't get along with his colleagues."

Even a guy as successful as McFarlane looks for contemporary role models, however, and he found two of them in Arizona - by way of Canada.

"I'm a little biased because they're Canadian - Wayne Gretzky and Steve Nash," he said. "They are guys who have climbed the top of the mountain of their occupations. They have won some of the most prestigious awards. And when you talk to them they are still thankful that they got there. They still appreciate. What they showed me is that it is possible to be in a position of power, to be in a position where people look up to you, and still be decent."